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[tt_deeb]

Questions in bold

Man, I've really slacked off as far as keeping track of videogames is concerned. I only own a GameCube of the three current generation systems and it's just completely unsatisfied me the last year or so. Nintendo as a whole has been completely dissapointing - no news to you guys. But the DS is shaping up awesome and some of these game ideas are really whack and might actually be fun to play *gasp* As much as I've begun to lost interest in the whole industry I think this might revive it a bit so I'm thinking about getting it for the holidays.

How does the Pictochat thing work? (is it online or something?) Froom what I quickly gathered the game cartridges only hold a 14th of the data that a PSP disc could have - is this going to effect it enough? I'm beginning to get pumped for the DS/PSP as I did when we approached the GCN/Xbox releases but I want to make sure this year I make the right decision and am not left in the dark. Is the DS as good as it's seeming? Has Nintendo actually made a recent decision that'll actually have potential to be semi-fun? I want to get into videogames again - I want to be able to enjoy them like I once used to.

P.S. I realize I probably could've found this stuff out going to some gaming sites and searching through topics but I wanted to be more direct and I wanted your guys opinions. (even though most of you probably havent had hands on experience with them)

EDIT: I want to mention how I was looking forward to a handful of Nintendo games back when (Magical Vacation, Giftpia, etc.) on the GBA and GC and they never made their way to the states. I want to make sure that when if I get the DS I'll be able to play these odd games instead of just drooling.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Proving once again that DS is the console of choice for a small minority of disaffected gamers lamenting Nintendo's demise in the industry and blaming it on some imagined "crisis" in the industry, not the fact that Nintendo has almost ZERO clue these days and the DS is profoundly symptomatic of that.

Submit to the orthodoxy and buy a PSP, not some janky two-screened kid trinket whose stylus-based potential is purely a hoped-for fantasy. Besides, do you REALLY wanna play games on a console whose greatest hope for expanding its userbase lies NOT with hardcore gamers but those who might think Nintendogs is a great way to spend their gaming time?

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Laptop > PSP = DS

 

[Drinky Crow]

Laptop >>>>>> GBA SP >>>>> PSP >>>>>>> DS

 

[explodet]

The PSP is already the orthodoxy?
Where have I been? Looks like tt_deeb isn't the only one who's been in a coma.

 

[Drinky Crow]

It's being derided for its "orthodox" launch lineup, which features the sort of games people actually like to play, not the magical stylus enabled games that jaded Nintendo fans like to fantasize about playing.

 

[WhippinSean]

I want to get into videogames again - I want to be able to enjoy them like I once used to.

Xbox + Halo 2 LE + Xbox Live = More fun than you've ever had in your lifetime!

 

[tt_deeb]

Xbox + Halo 2 LE + Xbox Live = More fun than you've ever had in your lifetime!

I do plan on eventually picking up an Xbox and a PS2. Both Halo 2 and San Andreas seem really fun. I can't really get into online play though. I've played some stuff on the computer - battlefield, urban terror,etc. but I just can't get into it - not my thing.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

I do plan on eventually picking up an Xbox and a PS2. Both Halo 2 and San Andreas seem really fun. I can't really get into online play though. I've played some stuff on the computer - battlefield, urban terror,etc. but I just can't get into it - not my thing.

If you played Goldeneye or Perfect Dark with a bunch of buddies splitscreen on N64 back in the day Halo 2 on XBox Live is the next best thing. Actually it's better!

 

[krypt0nian]

2,000,000+ pre-sells/store orders in Japan only say something HUGE.

 

[explodet]

Anyway, to try and be helpful:

From what I quickly gathered the game cartridges only hold a 14th of the data that a PSP disc could have - is this going to effect it enough?

It'll have an effect, sure. Developers (with exceptions) would rather fill disc/cartridge space with content then spend time optimizing for a smaller media. The PSP, however, may have some power issues - accessing a disc over and over again may be an issue. Nobody's really sure as the information on battery life has been inconclusive.

Is the DS as good as it's seeming? Has Nintendo actually made a recent decision that'll actually have potential to be semi-fun?

The DS has got potential, yes. Developers may create some really fun games for it. Unfortunately developers may not take advantage of that potential and take the safer route with a PSP. Right now it's too early to tell. But I wouldn't totally dismiss either machine. It's too early.

I want to make sure that when if I get the DS I'll be able to play these odd games instead of just drooling.

The DS will be region-free, if that's what you're getting at.

 

[Speevy]

Drinky Crow:

Nintendo will outsell the PSP in 2005. You can quote me on that.

Three things have to happen for the PSP to take over the market.

1) The DS has to fail.
2) The Gameboy 2 has to be a piece of crap that fails.
3) The younger demographic (you know, the one that bought the GBASP in greater numbers than the consoles last month?) has to disappear, and be completely replaced with an as yet unreached segment of the gaming population.
4) The GBA SP has to die. Nintendo is still supporting the thing.

And those are just the biggest obstacles Sony has to overcome.

Come join the orthodoxy everyone. It requires throwing the principles of marketing out the window in favor of a fantasy world where the coolest toy has ALREADY won. And I hope you love racing games, don't mind the variety of interesting and handheld-designed games of that "janky" thing over there.

 

[krypt0nian]

Drinky Crow:

Nintendo will outsell the PSP in 2005. You can quote me on that.

Three things have to happen for the PSP to take over the market.

1) The DS has to fail.
2) The Gameboy 2 has to be a piece of crap that fails.
3) The younger demographic (you know, the one that bought the GBASP in greater numbers than the consoles last month?) has to disappear, and be completely replaced with an as yet unreached segment of the gaming population.
4) The GBA SP has to die. Nintendo is still supporting the thing.

And those are just the biggest obstacles Sony has to overcome.

Come join the orthodoxy everyone. It requires throwing the principles of marketing out the window in favor of a fantasy world where the coolest toy has ALREADY won. And I hope you love racing games, don't mind the variety of interesting and handheld-designed games of that "janky" thing over there.

If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back.

 

[tt_deeb]

If you played Goldeneye or Perfect Dark with a bunch of buddies splitscreen on N64 back in the day Halo 2 on XBox Live is the next best thing. Actually it's better!

Probably right although I have a superiority complex and I can never compete with the big boys.

The DS will be region-free, if that's what you're getting at.

Yeah, I guess it does answer my question. That surgery game - Intern Tendou Dokuta is wack.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Where'd I suggest that the PSP would outsell the DS?

The ORTHODOXY is the idea that two screens and a stylus don't make games any MORE fun -- at best, it's potentially different fun in an unproven format with which developers have little experience. That tells me that once the novelty wears off, DS games will actually be a LOT less fun than their more orthodox brethren on the PSP, and with vastly inferior graphics, to boot. AWESOME!

 

[WasabiKing]

+1 Drinky Crow for using the word "janky" in the proper context.

 

[Speevy]

Where'd I suggest that the PSP would outsell the DS?

The ORTHODOXY is the idea that two screens and a stylus don't make games any MORE fun -- at best, it's potentially different fun in an unproven format with which developers have little experience. That tells me that once the novelty wears off, DS games will actually be a LOT less fun than their more orthodox brethren on the PSP, and with vastly inferior graphics, to boot. AWESOME!

I don't care if you suggested that. I think it will.

You suggested that Nintendo doesn't get what the majority of gamers really want out of their handheld game, and while you have a point to a certain extent, I don't think the PSP has a lock on the market like some are suggesting.

 

[drohne]

Nintendo will outsell the PSP in 2005. You can quote me on that.

you pointedly decline to say that the ds will outsell the psp in 2005.

 

[Speevy]

you pointedly decline to say that the ds will outsell the psp in 2005.

I said Nintendo, as in the GBASP.

The DS will be a rocket out of the gate and will eventually be discontinued because of sluggish sales. Quote me on that too.

 

[explodet]

As long as the orthodoxy doesn't mean a situation like the Japanese launch (releasing three mahjongg games during the launch period? Please), I'm okay with it.

+1 Drinky Crow for using the word "janky" in the proper context.

Triple word score.

 

[Drinky Crow]

You suggested that Nintendo doesn't get what the majority of gamers really want out of their handheld game

They don't. I'm also not asserting that what gamers want is shitty battery life, either.

The first 3-5M DS units will sell to the Nintendo fanbase. After that, it's Nintendo's game to lose -- and with the shitty, pre-dated hardware of the DS badly wed to gimmickry that requires a certain level of cognitive dissonance to apparently appreciate -- I'm betting that the DS becomes an N64-like blip on the gaming industry continuum.

Gameboy "2"? That's just more orthodoxy -- we HOPE.

 

[drohne]

the gba will go slowly. succesful consoles of past generations always do. for some time the snes outsold the saturn and playstation. but developers are already abandoning gba, nintendo included.

i agree with you about the ds's prospects.

 

[CamHostage]

2,000,000+ pre-sells/store orders in Japan only say something HUGE.

Yeah, but this always happens with Nintendo stuff -- there's an initial crush, then it tapers off dramatically. Maybe not so much with hardware (it's hard to see that momentum stopping, although one should ALWAYS be wary of publishers' handling of sales numbers), but look at something like WIND WAKER, the game came out of the gate with a bang and then just about never sold another copy until they started giving it away.

 

[krypt0nian]

Yeah, but this always happens with Nintendo stuff -- there's an initial crush, then it tapers off dramatically. Maybe not so much with hardware (it's hard to see that momentum stopping, although one should ALWAYS be wary of publishers' handling of sales numbers), but look at something like WIND WAKER, the game came out of the gate with a bang and then just about never sold another copy until they started giving it away.

We shall see shant we?

 

[Rocket Punch]

Save this thread for future generations. It will be interesting in years to come regardless of the outcome

 

[seismologist]

Yes, DS appears to be the real deal.
What Nintendo has done here is improved on ALL areas that have been lacking in handheld games.

Better interactivity
More intuitive screen layout
wireless multiplayer
3D graphics

Successful handheld is all about balance.
Not just blindy amping up the graphics performance at the expense of battery life.
Anyone who plays handhelds would know the DS is a step in the right direction.

 

[Amir0x]

Where'd I suggest that the PSP would outsell the DS?

The ORTHODOXY is the idea that two screens and a stylus don't make games any MORE fun -- at best, it's potentially different fun in an unproven format with which developers have little experience. That tells me that once the novelty wears off, DS games will actually be a LOT less fun than their more orthodox brethren on the PSP, and with vastly inferior graphics, to boot. AWESOME!

This is the key point, and I'm glad to someone else who is not blind to this.

Having dual screens and a touch screen does not suggest superior gameplay. Great PSP games will be just as great as a great DS game. Similarly, innovation also does not suggest superior quality. Something that is innovative can still suck as much as something that is unoriginal. In fact, the potential is there for more failures, as such a format is thoroughly unproven and in this case also happens to be hindered by fairly underwhelming hardware.

I was getting pretty tired hearing Nintendrones state that because the DS has two screens and an innovative direction that games will therefore be more interesting or more fun. It's an excersize in pointlessness, and if that's why you're buying a DS then I can do nothing but shake my head.

I'm buying a DS on launch. I'm buying it because I think it will have good games. This fact has nothing to do with the dual screens or the touch screen. Likewise, I am buying a PSP because it will also play great games. And you know what? The great games on that format will be just as great as the great games on any other format.

 

[The Prime Director]

Is the DS as good as it's seeming?

Yes.

Of course, that's not good a thing.

Don't waste your money on subpar hardware, even if it has a shiny happy touch screen. Mario 64 was available 8 years ago, you don't need to buy it again because they added Yoshi. I know this may be difficult to comprehend. There are too many real games coming out on the current consoles to justify spending money of portable systems.

 

[Sho Nuff]

Uhm, of course the DS is gonna outsell the PSP -- Sony is incapable of making more than 200,000 units for any system's launch

 

[Amir0x]

Uhm, of course the DS is gonna outsell the PSP -- Sony is incapable of making more than 200,000 units for any system's launch

Man, I didn't realize that because of the PS2 console shortage at launch that it didn't outsell the other consoles